The Mission Of Jesus Christ Is Not A DIY Project

There are times that it appears people feel God has given us our orders and sent us out to do what we can. We study his Word like an instruction manual and then move out to do a DIY project, trying to figure it out on our own, hoping for the best. I would say that we spend 95% of our day doing what we think we should and only 5%, if that, actually asking God for direction. I have heard people say that for most things we do not need to seek direction because the Word tells us what God expects but I think this is partially correct and partially wrong.

My real concern is that we keep leaving the Spirit out of our relationship with God. We are not including him in every part of our lives which includes understanding the Word of God. I believe the Bible is more than an instruction manual; it is a guide to understanding God's heart language so that when he speaks we can understand. The Word allows us to see God's heart so that we can see the world as he does, our lives as he does and so we can understand the voice of the Spirit as he speaks to us. The Word tells us what God has done, how it affects us and then the Spirit gives us the power to live it.

In his final instructions to his disciples Jesus gave a lot of teaching on the Holy Spirit. He told them:

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13)

You see, not left on our own, not sent out on our own, not involved with a DIY project but instead guided by the Holy Spirit. The Lord has given us people like myself who teach through the Spirit, who expound upon the Word of God, who share revelations of God's Word as revealed by the Holy Spirit, but these people cannot cause the Word to be applied to our heart, cannot cause the Word to shape us and mould us. This is what the Spirit does, when we surrender to him. At one point the Word explains:

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:27)

That anointing is the Holy Spirit who teaches us about all things; he is real, he is present, he is speaking to us all day long and one of his goal is to get us to remain in Christ.

Jesus continued to explain:

He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13)

Having the Holy Spirit with us is the same as having the Lord Jesus Christ with us. Just as we are not to act on our own, doing what we think is best, the Holy Spirit does nothing on his own but only what comes from Jesus. If we are willing to listen he shows us many things, allowing us to see through lies, giving us words of knowledge into people's lives, even telling us what is to come. Jesus continued:

He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. (John 16:14)

How many times do we rob Jesus of his glory by doing what we think is best instead of listening to the Spirit? Jesus hasn't sent us off on our own to do the best we can. He has sent us out so that he can reveal his glory through us, filled by the Spirit so that we can be guided throughout the day. It is not a matter of studying the Word and then moving out with instructions. We bury the Word in our heart, in fact we are told that by the Spirit the Word is written on our heart, so that when the Spirit speaks he does so by bringing the Word to our thoughts. When we speak he fills our mouths with that same Word. He gives us wisdom by that Word. Not a wisdom that comes from our own understanding but that comes from the heart of God through the revelation of his Word as taught to us by the Holy Spirit.

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:15)

We operate in a state of spiritual poverty when we carry the great riches of God around with us every single day of our life. Everything that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus and the Spirit takes from Jesus and gives it to us. Why would we be so foolish to act as if we are on our own when all the resources, wealth, wisdom, and power of God is ours through the Holy Spirit?

It is our lack of faith in Jesus Christ, our lack of trust in what he taught that is killing the world today. We have a job to do, a mission to complete and we have been given all the tools that we need. We are not based on the principles of commerce. We are not out to market Jesus Christ. We are not out to build a family oriented church. We are not out to build a church at all. We are the Church, forming the Body of Christ and each of us has our role to fulfil through the Holy Spirit. We have been sent out that Jesus would be glorified through us, pumped with the Holy Spirit, filled with the power of God, to act according to his wisdom and direction. We are more than soldiers of the cross. We are also soldiers of the resurrection, of the ascended Lord. We are the workers of Jesus Christ, filled by the Spirit, to do the impossible because we serve the God of all possibilities. We are Kingdom builders and we do our work through the power and direction of the Holy Spirit all day long. Not on our own but in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit.Now don't you forget it.